New Crisis, Chapter 7- Teen Troubles

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Rated M for Mature

Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence, sexual themes, nudity, or profanity.

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New Crisis, Chapter 7- Teen Troubles

Titans Tower, New York City

Connor Kent also known as Superboy went through hard training in the simulation program. He kept smashing the duplicate versions of Amazo, a super android designed to hunt down superheroes and vigilantes alike. The android also copies their powers and abilities to a full extent that they couldn’t figure out, how to defeat it. Connor was once defeated by the Amazo after its recent attacks in New York City, where people ran away from the shopping malls. Amazo was just there, to lure the Teen Titans into a trap.

But that trap was unexpected for Connor. He gradually learned his mistakes overtime, but whenever he flew around the city, looking to punch up bad guys, it reminded of the time that he couldn’t defeat the super android. This was the reason, why he had to train himself harder. But was this enough for the Superboy?

Cyborg watched the screen from the other side of the main control room. He simply sat there, configuring the controls as he was told by Connor to adjust the training program. The program allows the Teen Titans to overcome their enemies and learn to cooperate together in such a way that the Justice League had done it before. The JL members had trained these Teen Titans years earlier and they were ready for anything.

“Connor,” Cyborg spoke through the mike. “Yo Connor!” Superboy didn’t listen to him. He just focused on his harsh training. The look of seriousness was in his eyes. Cyborg noticed it and felt sorry for him.

Beast Boy was there too, standing behind Cyborg, and staring at Connor. He never thought that he wouldn’t get tired of hitting a lot Amazo androids all the time. However, the Amazos were not real. There were just holograms.

“He’s not gonna listen, is he?” Beast Boy said.

“Nope,” Cyborg heaved a sigh. He couldn’t help watching the young Kent, fighting his common enemy. Amazo must have driven him, to do something like this. He wouldn’t give up.

A door slid open behind the two titans. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked back and saw Tim Drake, also known as Red Robin arrived.

“He’s still at it?” Red Robin came closer to his friends.

“What do you think?” Cyborg said. “Sometimes, I wish I could get some sense into his head.”

“Well, you might have to try something else,” Tim made another suggestion. “I don’t know...maybe talk to him?”

“I’ve tried several times,” Cyborg sounded impatient. “He just wouldn’t listen to me.”

Red Robin stared at the computer screen, showing the fight. He had other ideas, how to talk with the Boy of Steel. He does have a strong attitude, which it would explain why he was the clone of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor.

“I’ll talk to him,” Red Robin turned away from the screen. “I’m pretty sure he’ll listen.”

“Good luck,” Cyborg said. He turned back towards the screen, and continued watching the fight. Beast Boy did the same.

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Along the hallway, Red Robin noticed Starfire, brushing her long hair. A beautiful alien, coming from the planet, Tamaran, surely wants to keep herself pretty. Wonder Girl wouldn’t mind that fact, now she had travelled to Paradise Island and honour Wonder Woman for becoming the new queen.

“Hi, Starfire,” Red Robin said.

“Hey Tim...What’s up?” Starfire didn’t look at the former Batman’s sidekick while she brushed her hair.

“I’m just on my way to see Connor.”

“Isn’t he doing some training?” Starfire finished combing her hair and this time, looked at the Red Robin.

“Yeah...but something’s wrong with him.”

Starfire knew Superboy’s attitude all her life. Sometimes, she couldn’t get along with him, even if it meant working alongside each other, fighting bad guys.

“Be careful, Tim,” Starfire said. “Sometimes, he might do something quite unexpected.” Tim was well-aware of that fact. In the past, Connor underwent a drastic change, becoming the evil Superboy. That happened, when a super-villain called Calculator used a red kryptonite on him. It unleashed the dark side of Lex Luthor within Superboy’s DNA.

“Don’t worry,” Red Robin smiled. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He continued walking though the hallway. Starfire looked at him, hoping that he could take care of Connor. She then went to the main quarters, where Cyborg and Beast Boy were watching the simulation.

Red Robin reached a big, wide door that led to the simulation room. This room was designed by Cyborg’s father to recreate places and different time periods, which the Teen Titans can adapt their fighting skills to the test. At first, Tim thought it would be too easy in succeeding the virtual tests. But the simulations proved tougher than he thought it would be.

Red Robin knocked on the door. So far, Superboy can only be heard, fighting the Amazos. He contacted Cyborg to open the door for him. Once the door was opened, he stepped in.

“Connor!” Red Robin cried out once. But Connor didn’t listen to him. Tim looked around the program, imitating the shopping mall, which Amazo had first appeared. There were people too, running away. He recalled this certain event, but at the same time felt a chill to his stomach.

“Hey, Connor! It’s me, Tim!” The Red Robin cried out again. He noticed Connor blasting his heat ray vision on the Amazos. He went towards him. The Boy of Steel stopped.

Phew! Red Robin thought. “It’s alright, Connor. You need to take a break. Okay?” He placed his hand on Connor’s right shoulder. Then, Connor looked back at the Red Robin, held his arm tightly and smashed him on the ground.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire watched in horror. They had no idea that Superboy would go overboard. Cyborg called out to him, again and again to stop the unnecessary fight. There was no response.

“$h!t!” Cyborg said. “He’s gone bonkers! We have to stop him.” Cyborg left the main room immediately. Starfire flew away, following him. Beast Boy then hopped behind them.

Tim Drake got up slowly; making sure the Boy of Steel wouldn’t hit him more. The amount of hits might break any part of his body. He had endured the pain, while fighting numerous bad guys, including the League of Assassins. But the current situation turned out differently for him. He raised his Bo staff, just to get ready for an attack. He had beaten Connor in the training ground. He can do it again.

The rest of the Teen Titans have finally arrived in the simulation room. Starfire flew towards Superboy, pushing him away from the Red Robin. Superboy got slammed against the wall. The Tamaran urged him to stop. But Superboy didn’t listen. He looked angry. It was like something took over him.

Superboy unleashed the heat vision from his eyes, and shot Starfire away from him. Cyborg caught her with his grip. Beast Boy transformed himself into a giant dragon. Superboy rushed towards the monster, beating it with his strong fists. The green-skinned Titan felt the pain. He blew fire from his mouth through the Boy of Steel. He didn’t get affected.

Superboy held the dragon’s tail and swung him over to the other side of the simulation room. The dragon slammed itself against the wall. Then, he transformed automatically into his former self.

Cyborg led the unconscious Starfire aside. He held his left arm, unleashing a sonic wave. The wave hit Superboy like a bolt. He couldn’t stand the harsh sound of it. Both of his ears were bleeding. But he managed to fly up the ceiling, breaking it. The debris almost landed on the simulation room. Cyborg ducked down, swiping the dust away with his use of air vaccum .Once the coast was clear, Cyborg looked at the broken ceiling. He feared that this day would come, that they had to face the evil Superboy again.

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A few hours later, the rest of the team gathered together in their meeting room to discuss their new plan. They knew that it wouldn’t be easy to capture Superboy. Somehow, they had to convince him that he was still on their side.

“I don’t get it,” Starfire felt confused. “There was no red kryptonite involved in this.”

“I know, right?” Cyborg agreed. “Something snapped Kent. It must have something to with Amazo.”

Red Robin didn’t know what to think of it. Amazo was a perfect android, and thus far they couldn’t defeat it. But they had to figure out a way, how to deactivate it.

“Connor was angry with Amazo,” Beast Boy said. “That, I’m pretty sure of it.”

They all nodded, still thinking of what to do next. Then, a loud noise was heard on the other side of the meeting room. The young heroes got up from their seats. They waited to attack, thinking that Connor had come back. The door opened and it wasn’t him.

“You!” Cyborg was totally surprised. “What the hell are you doing here? And how...” He wondered how the intruder got inside the Titan Tower.

“Oh please, Victor,” the man interrupted him. His name was Noah Kettler, also known as the super villain, Calculator. “You do know well, how I manage to buy some time, accessing tight security at a time like this. You need to work harder than that.”

“What’s your game, Calculator?” Red Robin had a strong feeling that the villain must have used red kryptonite to make Superboy evil again. But the villain wasn’t here before he got turned.

“Oh, please. Don’t call me that. I’m not that kind of person anymore. Just call me, Noah.”

“Yeah...right,” Beast Boy didn’t trust the villain. After all, he was the one, responsible for using the red kryptonite on Connor about a year ago.

“Let’s all calm down, kids,” Noah smiled. “We can work together.”

Cyborg wanted to laugh at the idea of Noah teaming up with them. There was no way that the Calculator could help them to stop Superboy. But he had a hunch that the villain could provide them something other than his tactics.

“Why are you here?” Starfire almost fumed. She wanted to unleash a blast on him.

“Why?” Noah felt like his plan was going nowhere. “Because, I’ve wanted to make up my past mistakes. You see, being a villain is not what I’ve expected to become. I just wanted to do the right thing. So, I’ve decided to come and help you all what I can.”

“Victor,” Red Robin looked at Cyborg. There was silence in the former football player. He recalled when his father’s technology, the device called the Regenerator, was once stolen by the Calculator. That was the first time; the Teen Titans had to take it back from him.

“So...” Noah smiled again. “What do you say? I have the green kryptonite that can stop him eventually. If I help you, you can do the same thing for me.”

“Help you?” Red Robin felt like throwing up. “And why would we do that?”

“Because...Red Robin, a certain man is coming after me. That man I believe had killed Lex Luthor.”

The Teen Titans glanced at each other. They heard the news about his death. Maybe, this was the reason, why the Calculator had to come here for their help. It was the only way.

“Let us discuss your problem later,” Cyborg felt angry about Noah’s current arrival. “Right now, we need to stop Superboy. Who knows what kind of damage he might cause. He even could hurt himself.”

Noah felt a sigh. He knew that Cyborg couldn’t trust him entirely. He had to make a choice, either help them first or not be saved from the masked maniac.

“Fair enough,” Noah agreed. “I’ll see to it that the green kryptonite has been kept secured safely. I’ll leave it for you to decide.” When Noah was about to leave the room, Cyborg stopped him, “Hold it right there!” Noah turned, smiling a little.

“The green kryptonite...” Cyborg thought for a moment. “I heard there wasn’t enough of it.”

“True,” the former Calculator said. “It seems that someone had stolen the green rocks off from this Earth. But that doesn’t matter right now. Does it? I got only one left.”

“Just one?” Starfire almost brightened her green eyes. She recalled, when Superman had told her, during the explosion of his home planet that the pieces of green kryptonite went scattering across the galaxy and then landed on Earth. There were tons of them, discovered by scientists, even Lex Luthor.

“Yes, I’m afraid there’s only one,” Noah said. “However, I do have other advantages against your flyboy. I’m pretty sure, you all do as well.” He looked at Cyborg for a while. Victor seemed to be quiet about all this. But he was still listening.

“Well then,” Noah turned around, walking towards the entrance. “Let me know what your decision is. Remind me to it. I’ll be very happy to help you.” He left the Teen Titans alone to themselves.

“What do you think guys?” Red Robin said. “Should we trust him?”

Cyborg gave it a thought. He wondered if Noah can truly help them. A matter of words wouldn’t be enough. He will have to see that Noah can do it in action.

“Let’s hear him out,” Cyborg made his final decision. His friends became quiet. “We’ll see if he can really help us.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Starfire said. “Then what?”

“We won’t solve his problem,” Cyborg thought of the intruder, who killed Lex Luthor. “End of story.”

Bludhaven

Dick Grayson scanned through the dark streets of Bludhaven. No one was around, except for lonely bums, sitting in the dark alleys. The rats can be seen, eating a piece of cheese. Dick ignored it as he concentrated investigating the attacks behind the Outsiders. As Nightwing, he patrolled the streets like a cop. But no cops would want to become like him. Using both his escrima sticks, and beating up bad guys. That’s something, Nightwing can handle it alone.

Nightwing recalled the training days, when he was working with Batman. At times, he had to learn certain rules of what Bruce went through his childhood life. He had learned so many things from him. Now, he had dropped his Robin, the Boy Wonder persona and became Nightwing.

Doing solo heroics may not be easy for the former Boy Wonder, but he made sure that the tasks at hand were important to him. Able to save people’s lives and fighting crime on the streets, was Nightwing’s main job as well as the other Outsiders.

Despite of what he had heard of the presumed, dead Robin, Jason Todd who later became the new Red Hood has turned Batman’s life upside down. He eventually grew to learn Jason’s true destiny and what might happen to him next.

He entered an abandoned building, and noticed the footprints, which were left behind by the super android. The thing, which was created by a scientist named Professor Ivo, was meant to preserve his immortality. But Amazo didn’t follow the creator’s instructions, leaving behind him. He had made a mistake. The Professor was trying to transfer his mind to that of the android. It was an amazing creation; hence Ivo had given its name. He tried to capture the android alone, but failed.

Dick scanned the building, turning the lights on, from his belt. He looked around the piles of boxes, which contained the metals for building kerosene. If Amazo had arrived here, then he had to be extra careful not to fuse any one of these boxes; otherwise the whole building will blow up.

He previously remembered the tracking device that he had implanted on the android during their last battle. All Dick had to do was use the tracker signal and wait, but for how long? It could take more time for the android to arrive. It could be hiding anywhere else. He knew that the android can only copy superhuman powers at close proximity, which means it couldn’t turn itself invisible or teleport to a separate location.

Dick jumped over the boxes, right and left and then landed on the steel platform. He walked through the platform and then stopped. He heard some clanking noises. It could be the android for all he knew. He raised up his escrima sticks; hit it on one of the side bars of the platform. He wanted to make sure that the android was listening to him, since it couldn’t talk. He waited for a couple of minutes. So far, the android didn’t arrive.

Then a shadow behind the boxes on the other side of the platform broke through. The flying debris went across Nightwing. He turned around to see the android coming towards him. Its’ eyes were glowing red.

The Outsiders were fighting the android with a full swing on their shoulders. It was something that they hadn’t expected. Nightwing, Black Lightning, Metamorpho, and Geo-Force, was trying to block the Amazo’s attacks. However, the Amazo copied their powers, deflecting their attacks directly at them. All of them fell down, hit the floor with a big, thud. Dick got up slowly, trying to recover his senses. Metamorpho used his powers to grow larger and beat the android. But it grew larger too. Amazo knocked Metamorpho with its large fist. The metahuman fell down again. Black Lightning unleashed his electric powers to subdue the android. But Amazo wasn’t affected by it. It then unleashed its electric powers back towards him. Black Lightning flew away from him.

While flying, Geo-Force focused his earthly powers to create a large rock and threw it at the android. The rock broke into half, as the android shot an electric blast on him. Geo-Force fell down again, not able to get up this time. The sheer power of the Amazo was proved to be more effective on the Outsiders. Dick watched his teammates got beaten, and bloodied.

Dick watched his hands, bloodied. As he tried to breathe, he raised his escrima sticks, and then rushed towards the android. He kicked the Amazo again, and again. There was still no effect. Amazo copied his moves, and used the attacks against him. Dick once again, fell back to his knees.

Dick felt the pain to his stomach. It almost looked like he had no fight left within him. He was tired, so weary that he forced himself not to give up. Amazo’s red eyes shone brightly again. Dick staggered towards him and fell unconsciously.

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Meanwhile, in the Outsiders secret underground base, the rest of the team have recovered their injuries in just a short time, thanks to Victor Stone’s father, Silas, who came up with an idea to create the Regenerator, a device that allowed them to heal.

“Thanks, Silas,” Geo-Force said. “Cyborg would have been happy by now.”

“Well, he isn’t here,” Silas thought about his son, Victor. “It’s all I could help.” He wondered what happened to Dick, since he was the one who called him to help the Outsiders.

“Alright!” Metamorpho checked his injured body was fully recovered. “It’s time to kick some android @$$!”

“Not so fast, Metamorpho,” Black Lightning created a spark on the tip of his fingers, just to see how much Amazo had absorbed his powers. “We need to find a way to stop it.”

“Or we need to stop its’ amazing abilities,” Silas gave out another option.

The rest of the Outsiders looked at each other. “What do you mean?” Geo-Force asked the scientist.

Silas took out his holographic cube, placing it on the table. He then activated the device, which then showcases Amazo’s entire anatomy. “We need to deactivate a program, which allows it to copy superhuman abilities.”

“Is that possible?” Metamorpho stared at the holographic screen.

“Yes,” Silas said.

“But there is one problem,” Geo-Force said. “How can we do it?”

Silas thought of what the Markovian Prince had just said. This could be a hard part. But he had to think of something fast.

“I’ll have to contact my son about the current situation and see what he can do to help.”

“Just your son or the Teen Titans?” Metamorpho asked.

“Both,” Silas activated his communication link, waiting for the call on the other line. Cyborg picked up the call.

“Cyborg here.”

“Victor, it’s me.”

“Dad?” Victor sounded surprised. He thought that his father was still working in S.T.A.R. Labs.

“Vic, the Outsiders need your help. It’s urgent.”

“Umm...Dad,” Victor could have reminded his father about the other, current situation, but he didn’t know that he was with the Outsiders. “It’s Connor. I think he went berserk.”

“Berserk? Silas almost jumped up. “What do you mean? What happened?” The Outsiders stared at him.

Victor told the whole story. Silas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Out of all the troubles, they found themselves in; this was something almost new to him.

“Vic...Listen,” Silas warned him about the Calculator. “You can’t trust him. You remembered what he did, right? He stole...

“I know, Dad. But he’s the only one, who can stop Connor.”

Silas became quiet. He didn’t know what else to say. This was something unexpected that came out of his son. At one time, he felt sorry for turning Victor into a cyborg. He could have had a normal life. But he had to save his son from death.

“Vic,” Silas said. “I need you to listen to me. Okay? You can’t work with him. It’s a goddamn trick.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Victor felt his father was right. But he couldn’t find another way. “We need to stop him as soon as possible. Cyborg, over and out.” The communication line ended.

“Victor? Victor!”

“What’s wrong?” Metamorpho couldn’t hear what they spoke, since the communication line was secured.

“It looks like he can’t help us,” Silas gave out a sigh.

“What?” Black Lightning was surprised “Why not?”

Silas told Victor’s story to them. They listened to him carefully, and later were considering other options in solving both situations at hand.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Silas felt badly about this. Damn it!

“Do not worry, Silas,” Geo-Force said. We will take care of Amazo, no matter what the consequences are.”

“Not to mention, we have to find Dick,” Black Lightning added. “Let’s show this android some sparks.”

“Yeah,” Metapmorpho agreed.

Silas looked at them. He wondered if his son working with the Calculator was indeed a good idea. There was no telling, what might happen if the Teen Titans find themselves in a trap.

“Alright,” Silas decided to continue working with the Outsiders. “Let’s show Amazo, how amazing we are.”

To be continued in New Crisis, Chapter 8- Criminal Minds.

What’s this? Both the Teen Titans and the Outsiders are affected by the Amazo crisis? What will happen next? Not to mention, what’s going to happen with Nightwing? Is Amazo going to kill him? Find out in the later chapter of New Crisis.

Next, the Suicide Squad has returned and this time, under the command of the deadly mercenary, Deadshot. Amanda sends six of them, to capture the Black Weapon, who was seen killing several new, costumed villains in Los Angeles. Can they stop him? Then, Katana, the former Outsider returns to Tokyo, only to find that her boss was killed by none other than Deathstroke. Can Katana find out what’s going on? Finally, the Joker hears the news of Lex Luthor’s death and finds that he was not invited back to the Secret Society. Things will get rough, when he gets out from Arkham Asylum with Bane’s help. Find out in the next chapter of New Crisis.

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